Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame

Eligibility criteria for nomination into the Hall of Fame for Student-Athletes and coaches are the following:

1. National Player or Coach of the Year

2. Individual Olympic medal winner

3. First-team All-America

4. Member of Olympic medal-winning team

5. National champion

6. National record-holder

7. Second- or third-team All-America

8. Conference Player or Coach of the Year

9. First-team all-conference

10. Second-or third-team all-conference

11. Conference champion

12. Conference record-holder

13. Georgia Tech school record-holder

14. First-team Academic All-America

15. Second- or third-team Academic All-America

16. Letter in four different varsity sports

17. Letter in three different varsity sports

18. Letter in two different varsity sports.

Graduation from Georgia Tech is not mandatory for induction into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.

All nominees for induction should have exhibited in their daily lives the principles of the Total Person Concept.

B. NOMINATING CATEGORIES

Student-Athletes – Georgia Tech student-athletes who meet any of the criteria listed in section A become eligible automatically beginning 10 calendar years after their final season of eligibility. They remain on the ballot for a period of five years, and if not elected in that time, their eligibility expires.

Veterans – Veterans nominees are former student-athletes who have failed to be elected during their five-year period on the primary ballot, but who meet any of the criteria for induction listed in Section A, or a student-athlete whose eligibility was completed a minimum of 20 years prior to the current induction year, has never been nominated previously and for whom documentation that the candidate has met the criteria for induction may not exist. Such candidates must have a considerable body of testimony on their behalf that would lead the committee to believe the candidate meets any of the criteria.

Staff/Coaches/Managers/Trainers – This category encompasses coaches, broadcasters, full-time staff members or student managers/trainers, if such a person existed with extremely strong credentials. Full-time employees of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association are not eligible for nomination under this category until after they have retired or are otherwise no longer employed by the GTAA.

Criteria for nomination of a student manager or trainer to the Hall are the following. The waiting period for a student manager or trainer before becoming eligible for nomination shall be 10 years after his/her final year of service.

1. Earned three (3) varsity letters

2. Served as head manager or trainer for at least one (1) year

3. Must have contributed above and beyond his or her assigned duties

4. Must have graduated from Georgia Tech

C. ANNUAL CLASS SIZE AND STRUCTURE

1. A maximum of six (6) inductees per year shall be inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame from the Student-Athlete category each year.

2. There shall be a maximum of two (2) inductees per sport per year into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame.

3. A maximum of one additional inductee may be elected per year each from the Veterans or Staff categories.

D. NOMINATING AND SELECTION PROCEDURES

1. Student-athletes who meet criteria in Section A are automatically placed on the ballot beginning 10 years after their collegiate eligibility has expired. The Georgia Tech Communications and Public Relations Office shall compile information on eligible student-athletes who automatically qualify under the criteria for induction listed in Section A.

2. Nominations in the Veterans or Staff categories must be made in writing with documentation of eligibility based on the criteria set forth in Section A and with appropriate supporting recommendation.

3. Written nominations must be submitted to the chairperson of the Hall of Fame Committee by March 1 to be considered for that year’s class. Nominations received after March 1 shall be tabled until the next year.

4. The Hall of Fame Committee chairperson shall provide information on all eligible nominees to the full committee not later than 10 days prior to the annual meeting.

5. The Hall of Fame Committee shall meet annually on the first or second Tuesday of April to consider and discuss nominees for that year’s class.

6. The Hall of Fame Committee must be thoroughly and extensively briefed on potential nominees to the Hall of Fame who may have experienced controversial situations.

7. Voting on the Hall of Fame class must be completed by the end of April each year.

8. Attendance at the annual Hall of Fame Committee meeting is mandatory for all members. A member not present in any given year will not participate in voting for that year’s class. A member missing two consecutive meetings shall surrender his or her position on the committee.

E. VOTING PROCESS

1. The Hall of Fame ballot consists of two parts, one including all of the automatically nominated student-athletes (the primary ballot) and the other listing the nominees from the Veterans and Staff categories (secondary ballot).

2. In the primary portion of the ballot, candidates shall be voted on using a point total of 1 to 8, with 8 being the highest point total awarded. Candidates will appear on the ballot in alphabetical order. The candidates with the top six point totals, who also are named on a majority (51 percent or more) of the ballots cast, will be elected. No nominee shall be elected into the Hall of Fame without being named on a majority of the ballots.

3. If the ballotting results in the election of fewer than three inductees in a given year, a second ballot shall be sent to the committee which includes the other candidates who appeared on 51 percent or more of the initial ballots. The committee members then will be asked to vote on their top one, two or three candidates (the number required to fill the maximum of six inductees), using the appropriate point range for priority (1 through 3, 4 or 5). Candidates on the second ballot with the highest point totals, who also are named on 51 percent of those ballots, shall be inducted.

4. In the case of a tie between two or more individuals for the sixth position in total votes/points, the following steps will be followed to break the tie….

a. The candidate who appears on the most ballots will be inducted

b. If the candidates all appear on the same number of ballots, the committee will break the tie by re-vote involving the individuals in the tie

5. Nominees for induction into the Hall of Fame shall remain on the primary ballot for five years. After the fifth year, if the nominee has not earned the required votes for election, he or she shall be eliminated from the ballot. After an additional five-year waiting period, that candidate may be nominated for consideration in the Veterans category.

6. If a nominee on the primary ballot for the Hall of Fame receives zero (0) votes for three consecutive years, that candidate shall be removed from the ballot. After an additional five-year waiting period, that candidate may be nominated for consideration in the Veterans category.

7. On the secondary ballot (Veterans and Staff nominees) , nominees are subject to a yes/no vote on the ballot, and a two-thirds “yes” vote is required for induction. This nominee, if elected, shall be inducted in addition to those elected through the regular voting process. If not elected, the nominee remains on the ballot for two more years (a total of three years). If not elected in the three-year period, the candidate must be re-nominated to be on the ballot in a future year.

8. In years where more than one candidate is listed on the secondary ballot, only the nominee who receives the most “yes” votes, even when more than one receives the two-thirds required, will be inducted.

F. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE HALL OF FAME CLASS

1. Committee members and inductees shall be notified by letter and invited to the annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, which includes a reception and banquet the night prior to a Tech football game in the fall, and also shall be recognized at the football game during pre-game or halftime ceremonies.

2. Public announcement of the class shall take place in June once all of the inductees have been notified.

3. Inductees shall receive the following items upon, or shortly after, their induction:

a. Hall of Fame commemorative ring

b. Hall of Fame commemorative plaque

c. Hall of Fame commemorative video of induction dinner

d. Two nights lodging for Hall of Fame weekend

e. Air fare, if necessary, to and from Atlanta

f. Complimentary tickets to induction dinner for inductee and immediate family

g. Complimentary tickets to Saturday football game for inductee and immediate family